RAONIC UPSETS ALMAGRO AT BARCELONA OPEN

Canadian Milos Raonic advanced to the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open on Thursday with an upset win over Nicolas Almagro. Raonic, seeded 11th, needed only 68 minutes to knock off the sixth-seeded Spaniard 6-3, 6-3. The 21-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., converted all three of his break point chances, while not allowing his serve to be broken for the second straight match. Raonic faces Scotland’s Andy Murray, the second seed, in the quarterfinals. Rafael Nadal also cruised into the quarterfinals with a straight-set victory. Nadal broke Robert Farah of Colombia in the first game on his way to a 6-2, 6-3 victory for his 31st straight win at the tournament. Nadal set up a quarterfinal match with fifth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic after the Serbian beat Frederico Gil 6-2, 6-2.